The present exemplary embodiments relates to the synthesis of polyaniline and its substituted derivatives. It finds particular application in conjunction with the synthesis of conductive polyaniline nanofibers, and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the present exemplary embodiment is also amenable to other like applications such as other conductive and semiconductive polymers.
Electroconductive polymers have been subject to extensive research in recent years. Polymers which show electrical conductivity due to the structure of the polymeric chain may be used to replace metal conductors and semiconductor materials in many applications. Significant applications include providing a conductive pathway in circuits and devices, displays, lighting, chemical, biological, environmental and medical sensors, anticorrosive coatings, scaffolds for tissue growth, antistatic shielding (ESD) and electromagnetic shielding (EMI).
In the group of intrinsically electroconductive polymers, one technically promising polymer is polyaniline. Polyaniline has emerged as one of the most promising conducting polymers and can be used in a variety of applications, such as paint, antistatic protection, electromagnetic radiation protection, electro-optic devices such as liquid crystal devices (LCDs), light emissive displays, lighting and photocells, transducers, circuit boards, chemical, biological, environmental and medical sensors, anticorrosive coatings, scaffolds for tissue growth, etc.
Polyaniline is one of a class of conductive polymers, which can be synthesized through either chemical polymerization or electrochemical polymerization. Polyaniline is conventionally prepared by polymerizing an aniline monomer. The nitrogen atoms of monomer units are bonded to the para-carbon in the benzene ring of the next monomer unit. In chemical preparation, bulk polymerization is the most common method to make polyaniline. As has been previously reported, conventional bulk chemical synthesis produces granular polyaniline.
Polyaniline nanofibers have attracted much attention in the field of nanotechnology. There have been recent reports of a variety of chemical methods used in order to obtain polyaniline nanofibers. These approaches include use of templates or surfactants, electrospinning, coagulating media, interfacial polymerization, seeding, and oligomer-assisted polymerization.